Prosecutors charged Emrys John, Tyrone Miller and Kevin Cox with two counts of murder in the deaths of Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his 26-year-old wife Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, who was raised in Ontario, went to Ayala High School and was a master's student at Cal State San Bernardino when she was killed.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for all four defendants.

The victims were found brutally murdered inside their home, in the unincorporated community of Winchester, on Oct. 15, 2008. They were both bound with tape and had been shot in the head.

John, Miller and Cox worked with Pietrzak at Camp Pendleton. The three defendants also were charged with special circumstances for committing murder during the commission of a burglary, robbery and rape by instrument as well as the double murder.

John and Miller will share a jury for their trial, which heard lawyers deliver their opening remarks Monday morning in Riverside Superior Court. Cox has a separate jury, which heard from the Deputy District Attorney Daniel DeLimon that afternoon.

A fourth man, Kesaun Sykes, was severed from the group and is scheduled to go to trial in August.

Prosecutors believe all four defendants went to the victims' home to rob them. They forced their way inside, physically assaulted the man, sexually assaulted the woman and then murdered both.

In his opening statements, DeLimon said the couple had purchased their 5-bedroom home in 2008 and were married in August of that year.

"Sixty seven days after they were married they were executed in the house they bought," DeLimon said.

When Pietrzak didn't show up for work, Riverside County sheriff's deputies were asked to conduct a welfare check on his home. Deputies arrived to find the front door open and the couple was found in the living room, bound and motionless.

Items scattered around inside the house, and racial slurs written as graffiti on walls and mirrors. Flammable liquids had also been poured around the interior of the home. Shoe prints were found throughout the house and on Jan Pietrzak's bodies.

DeLimon said when the killers left the house, they turned on all the gas knobs to the oven. No fire ever erupted.

"Luckily the house did not burn down and did not explode," DeLimon said. "We would have lost all this evidence. "

Bank statements showed that Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak's ATM card had been used outside Camp Pendleton about a half hour after the couple was killed. Her account had been accessed, her pin number was used and there were several transactions at that time, including the withdrawal of $460, according to prosecutors.

The suspect who used the ATM card wore a bandana over his face and mechanic's gloves. He covered the camera while making the transaction.

During the investigation, detectives discovered jewelry was missing from the home, including the woman's engagement and wedding ring, her husband's wedding ring and other jewelry.

In the days after the slayings, witnesses came forward and investigators were led to the suspects.

When detectives searched Miller's home, they found a paper with the victim's address under the couch. They also found Quiana's ATM card, and some of the victim's jewelry on a night stand.

"In plain view, like items that weren't stolen, that didn't belong to other people," DeLimon said.

In Miller's closet, deputies found a gun and a bag with a blue bandana and mechanic's gloves.

During interviews with authorities, Miller eventually admitted that he went to Pietrzak's home with a disguise.

Miller told deputies that he stole things, he painted things on the walls, and he tried to set the house on fire, DeLimon said. Miller said he beat the couple and stole things but he didn't kill anyone.

Miller's attorney waived his opportunity to give a statement to jurors on Monday.

Officials said they found tennis shoes in Cox's car that matched prints that were at the crime scene.

During a 4-hour interview with officials, Cox admitted to being at the scene of the crime. But he said he only went along with the other three and that he played a minor role.

Cox's attorneys are expected to give their opening statements today.

While searching John's house, deputies found a blue bandana and shoes with a similar pattern as were found at the crime scene.

John's attorney, John Hemmer, told jurors on Monday that this is a terrible crime, and he didn't want to reduce the severity of what happened to the sergeant and his wife.

"Don't make any judgments until you hear all the witnesses," Hemmer asked the jury. "Judge the credibility of the witnesses, use common sense" to come up with a fair verdict.

Those things, Hemmer said, will be "paramount to determine what Emrys John has done. "

Testimony will begin in the John and Miller trial today. The guilt phase of the trial is expected to last about four weeks.